Ashen Dragonslayer vs Alduin
by RageMelons
Summary: 1st in a series of short stories I wrote about Dark Souls character fighting Alduin. Low on story and pretty much all about the fight. Rated M for language and gore. I'm open any and all reviews, criticism is much needed!
1. Chapter 1

**Alric**

Drakeblood Helm, Fallen Knight Armor, Drakeblood Gauntlets, Fallen Knight Trousers. Dragonslayer's Axe, Dragon Crest Shield, Sunlight Talisman. Morne's Ring, Ring of the Sun's Firstborn, Chloranthy Ring, Sage's Ring.

* * *

Alric rose from the bonfire. He was in a new land for sure, given that the wide expanse of grass and rocks, and some sort of city in the distance, was completely unfamiliar to him.

The city was the most logical place to go to, but before he could set off, a dreadfully familiar roar filled the air. Turning, Alric clearly saw the dark shape of a black wyvern soaring through the air.

Hopefully, this one might ignore him. Or it wasn't hostile.

The dragon turned and flew right towards him. Even from this distance Alric saw killing intent gleaming in it's eyes.

Wishful thinking.

(Old Dragonslayer Theme)

Well, at the very least Alric hoped he could make a good weapon out of its tail. Exchanging his shield for his Talisman, Alric drew a Lightning Arrow and let loose at the creature's belly.

He hit right on the mark. Though his attack did only minimal damage, the black dragon seemed to be shocked that it hurt it at all.

Alric grinned. An overconfident dragon almost made for an amusing hunt.

He fired three more arrows, searing the dragon's wings and bringing it closer. He tried to land a fourth, but the dragon unexpectedly rolled in the air and reared back to roast him.

Alric pulled his shield in his right hand, the enchanted metal easily blocking the flames, and ran _towards_ the dragon. The beast loudly laughed at him, shouting something in an unknown tongue before landing to get physical. Alric only grinned.

Before he got close, he suddenly pulled his shield back and hurled a Sunlight Spear directly into the dragon's face. It screeched in pain, briefly clawing at its eyes, and Alric used that opportunity to close in and strike with his axe. The Mirrah steel surprisingly didn't cut very deep, but the Lightning charred the dragon's scales and flesh with ease.

It snapped at him once, then backwards, but Alric rolled under both attacks. This dragon was...magnificent. Clearly it was only a wyvern-a far inferior descendant-but it's scales were as hard as those on the Arch-Dragon Midir. Its unique red eyes burned with hatred, it's breath heavy but slow and controlled. This dragon was no stranger to combat, but it didn't fight with just primal savagery.

No, there was intelligence in its actions. A mind to guide it. Alric almost felt guilty having to slay it, but a Dragonslayer he was and would always be.

Turning his thought back to the fight, Alric rolled under yet another snap and threw another Sunlight Spear at its neck. He was positioned the side of the massive dragon, so hitting the broad side of it was no trouble.

As the power of Lord Gwyn charred its scales once again, the dragon suddenly spoke, in a deep male voice. "What power is this?! No mortal in this realm has ever charred a _dovah's_ scales! Who are you?!"

Alric masked his shock carefully and brought out his shield once more, this time exchanging his weapon for his Talisman.

"I am no mortal." he responded evenly. "And I am not of this realm."

With that, he charged forward, sliding under the dragon's head, firing a Lightning Arrow into it neck, then rolled to its left side and slammed down a Lightning Stake. In response the dragon briefly took to the air to create distance once again.

"No…" it said. "You are no _joor_. What are you?"

Alric held out an Ember and crushed it, feeling the strength of fire filling him. "I am only Ash. I have been once destroyed by fire, and now it is only my strength."

The dragon laughed. "If fire will not kill you, then perhaps the other elements will!"

It shouted to the sky, causing many flaming rocks to begin falling, each threatening to crush the Ashen One into dust.

In response, Alric raised his Talisman and invoked the Oath of Sunlight to briefly heighten his strength. Then he empowered his Dragonslayer's Axe with more powerful Lightning than it already contained, took out his shield, and charged again.

The dragon breathed a wave of ice that could've frozen a giant, but with the combined power of the Embers and the Oath of Sunlight, Alric easily ignored it and swung overhead. He barely clipped the dragon's scales, then was nearly torn in half when the dragon bit down on him and threw him into a small stream.

Alric blinked, seeing stars, then shook his head and took a quick swig from his Estus Flask. It wasn't enough to fully heal him, but it provided enough mobility to roll away from a falling meteor. Getting to his feet he drank again, then swore loudly as he heard beating wings closing from multiple directions.

Great, _more_ dragons.

Thankfully these ones seemed more interested in the fight than killing him, so Alric had just enough time to focus a Greater Lighting Spear and throw it. The black dragon took to the air and avoided it, then started circling Alric, breathing fire to enclose him. Not that it mattered much, a closer battle was what he was looking for. The meteors stopped falling, but the sky remained covered in dark clouds, an orange light shining behind them casting the battlefield in a frightening glow.

The dragon circled back and shouted again, but instead of an attack its speed seemed to increase drastically.

Alric blinked. Damn, that complicated things. The dragon attempted to crush him as it landed, but he just barely dove out of the way. Unfortunately his sloppy evasion left him open to a swing from its tail that nearly sent him into fire. But he was an Undead, an Ashen Undead at that, and such pain was merely a distraction he ignored.

Alric had somehow lost his shield and he didn't know where, but he would find it after he killed this monster.

It stalked towards him, clearly thinking that the battle was won. "I know not where you came from or what your true nature is, _Ash_, but know that I am Alduin! First born of Akatosh! My blood is divine and my power unending! You think yourself great to challenge me, but you will die, and I will live on forever!"

A dragon god? What a strange world. But Alric had killed deities before, and although this Alduin was powerful it had yet to fully match Darkeater Midir. And even then, Alric had slain that dragon as well.

He said nothing, but drew another Lightning Arrow and fired. Predictably, Alduin was able to dodge it and snapped forward with an even colder frost in its mouth. Interesting. And perfect. Instead of attempting to dodge the attack. Alric pulled back and readied another Sunlight Spear. At the last moment, Alduin's eyes widened, realizing his mistake.

But it was too late. Alric slammed the spear down Alduin's throat, then sidestepped and buried his axe in the dragon's eye.

(Darkeater Midir phase 2)

Alduin roared, the force of it blasting Alric back like the Wrath of the Gods, and he barely took a swig of his Ashen Estus with trembling hands.

Now, he saw, the fight wasn't over. Not by a long shot. Alduin was only just beginning to feel the damage Alric had inflicted, but he would no longer hold back. This fight had become truly deadly, the dragons circling around them had been whipped into a frenzy, roaring and shouting and fighting one another.

Alduin charged him wildly, breathing a huge spout of even more intense flames than before that actually burned Alric. Dimly aware of the fact the cloth on his armor was now on fire, Alric ignored it in favor of another chug of Estus. Alduin snarled at the realization that Estus was healing his foe, and charged again with incredible speed.

Alric rolled under him, throwing yet another Sunlight Spear that caused considerable damage to the dragon's tail: It had actually blown off the scales at the base of it and melted the flesh underneath down to charred bone.

For the first time since this battle began, Alric grinned. He had an idea, one that didn't seem too bad.

Alric feigned readying another spear, only this time when Alduin charged Alric timed his roll so he would be positioned right next to Alduin's tail. Raising his Talisman, Alric summoned a great Lightning Stake and brought it down on the spot where the Sunlight Spear had hit.

The resulting explosion fully detached the rest of the tail, sending a heap of blood, gore, and bone everywhere as Alduin screamed in agony. Alric was also sent flying, but became aware of a new weight in his bag. Scrambling under a rock to hide from Alduin's gaze he quickly inspected his new prize.

**Dragonbone Greatsword**

_A massive ultra greatsword carved from the tail of the deific dragon Alduin. It's blade is unbreakable and sharper than any other in history._

_Weapon Art: Alduin's Wrath_

_Hold the sword aloft to summon a brief storm of meteors from the sky._

What a treasure! Alric had sadly only ever _found_ dragon weapons before, but now he could finally say he had created one himself!

Stuffing the incredible weapon back into his bag, Alric dove out of cover just in time for the rock to explode as Alduin crashed through it. In the blink of an eye Alduin spun around and once again breathed flames hot enough to partially melt Alric's armor.

He just barely refrained from screaming and blindly grabbed something off the ground and used it to shield himself from the fire. When he realized he wasn't dead yet, Alric looked at what he had grabbed only to find it was indeed his shield!

Alduin only pressed forward with his hellfire, but Alric lightly chuckled and downed the last of his Estus and Ashen Estus. He didn't know how close Alduin was to death, but surely a few good attacks would put him down.

The Dragonslayer suddenly rolled out of the flames, and before Alduin could follow him performed one miracle he never hoped he would have to: Vow of Silence.

The purple orb dropped, and both dragon and undead stumbled as their divine powers were abruptly cut off.

Alric recovered first, rushing forward and slashing at Alduin with his axe. Now that his scales were properly weakened, the Dragonslayer Axe cut deep into Alduin's flesh, drawing a fresh spout of blood with each swing. The black dragon tried to turn, but without his powers he had become much slower, and Alric could effortlessly avoid his head.

As Alric slashed mercilessly, Alduin stumbled as he just barely kept his balance. The blood loss from losing his tail had drained most of his stamina, and with the loss of focus Alduin lost the adrenaline from his berserk rage. Just as he slumped to the ground and Alric prepared his final swing, Alduin noticed the purple ring around Alric vanish, and immediately his power rushed back.

"_Gaan Lah Haas!"_

Alric's grip on his weapon slacked as what remained of his life force was brutally ripped out of him and into Alduin. He dropped both his shield and axe on the ground and fell to his knees, then slumped forward and died. The embers faded from his armor and his body slowly dissolved into souls.

(Music stop)

Alduin brought himself up and watched his foe's body begin to vanish. He was only barely holding on to life, blood pouring from his mouth and wounds, the stump of his where his tail used to be burning. But he was alive. It would take a long time to recover from this, months or maybe even a year, but Alduin gladly inhaled the _thousands_ of souls his opponent left behind to keep him alive long enough to return to Sovngarde.

Whatever that creature was, _Ash_ it called itself, had clearly been either alive for a long, long time, or had slain an entire kingdom in it's short life. Either way, it was undoubtedly the deadliest foe Alduin had ever encountered. Even though only a Dovah could take his soul, this creature's divine powers had no difficulty harming the son of Akatosh himself. Perhaps even, that creature could actually contend with the Daedra themselves.

Either way, it was dead now, and Alduin thankfully wouldn't have to find out.

Odahviing landed beside him, his expressed caught peculiarly between shock, terror, and concern for his lord.

"Alduin...are you-"

His question was cut off by Alduin violently expelling dark blood from his mouth. The black dragon raised his head and only looked at Odahviing tiredly, emotionally spent.

"It is no use asking if I am "alright", but I'm not going to die now. I don't know that thing truly was, but it was no mere mortal. That power it contained…"

Alduin shook his head.

"It will take me many months to recover from this. For the first three, I will not be able to keep the younger drakes in line. That is up to you."

With that, Alduin slowly took the air and limped back towards Skuldafn.

_Alric may be an experienced dragonslayer, but faith alone can't win every battle. Most of his armor was too weak to properly withstand true dragonfire, and his over reliance on miracles made him predictable, even if they were devastating against Alduin. Add in that several times he stopped to converse with Alduin instead of attacking or healing simply allowed his opponent to plan their next attack._


	2. Chapter 2

**Marx**

Iron Dragonslayer Helm, Armor of Thorns, Ringed Knight Gauntlets, Drakeblood Leggings. Sellsword Twinblades, Dragonslayer Greatbow, Sorcerer's Staff. Obscuring Ring, Havel's Ring, Blue Tearstone Ring, Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring.

* * *

Marx rose from the bonfire, examining his new surroundings. A great plane indeed, only spotted by occasional rocks and wildlife. And in the distance, a city of some sort.

Alas, his observations were cut short by the roar of a dragon cutting through the air. Looking to the sky, he saw a massive black wyvern circling overhead. Damn, that wouldn't do.

Marx readied his Greatbow and drew a Dragonslayer Arrow, then twisted it as he pulled it back. The dragon was large, but also quite agile in the sky. He needed to ground it while it couldn't see him. Marx carefully aligned the shot, estimated the distance…

And let loose. A massive golden arrow soared through the sky as though it were a true bolt of lightning. For several seconds, he carefully watched it soar. Then, it struck the dragon right in the shoulder, where the wing met the body.

Marx grinned and congratulated himself. Like Hawkeye Gough himself shooting the Great Calamity out of Oolacile's skies!

Marx ran towards where the dragon had landed. If he wasn't fast enough, it could heal enough to escape.

(Gaping Dragon Theme)

As he neared, Marx was careful not to come too close, or the dragon would see him. Setting his Greatbow, he pulled back a normal Greatarrow so the dragon couldn't see the lightning. The wyvern was both confused and enraged, furious red eyes searching its surroundings and it prowled over the grass. He would get one more shot before it noticed him.

Once again, Marx lined up the shot, this time aiming for the other wing. The Wyvern turned, and he fired, directly through the membrane. Without waiting, Marx dropped his Greatbow and rolled to the side, unsheathing his Twinblades and using his staff to cover them in blue crystals. Behind him, the dragon was already spewing fire everywhere, setting the immediate area on fire, but it was apparent it still could not see him.

Marx grinned and quickly dashed around behind it, then rolled forward and slashed at its tail. In an instant the dragon whirled around, Marx having gotten its undivided attention. The Ashen One only dashed forward again, going for its neck. The dragon snarled something in a strange language and breathed a gust of ice at him.

Marx's eyes widened, but he managed to roll through the attack and slash just under the dragon's jaw. The crystal blades easily pierced the dragon's scales and the magic ate away at its soul to great effect. The dragon tried to step back, but even in heavy armor Marx was faster, diving under its wing to slash away at its belly, then back away when it careened its head back and tried to incinerate him.

The heat from the flames was intense, but once more Marx leapt back and observed his foe. The would he created with his crystal blades were not allowed to close due to the lingering magic, but even with ever increasing blood loss the dragon roared and made to breath ice again, only this time the Undead wouldn't be able to evade.

Making a split decision, Marx raised his staff and cast a Twisted Wall of Light that thankfully redirected the ice around him. The dragon blinked in surprise, then did something Marx did not expect.

"This magic is powerful...and not of this world." Dragons speaking was not strange, it was known that the Arch-Dragons and some of their descendants could speak, but it was fairly well known that dragons _refused_ to speak the tongues of humans.

Marx did not understand what it said, but he wasn't going to let himself be distracted so easily. He raised his staff again and formed a Crystal Soul Spear that struck the dragon head on. While it roared in rage, Marx reapplied the crystals to his twinblades, then sprinted directly at the dragon. It snarled and raised its head to the sky, but Marx quickly stabbed it in the throat before it could surprise him again.

The dragon's eyes widened as it choked on the titanite blades, then its own blood when Marx tore them out. He fired a Crystal Hail into the sky, then grinned as he got an..._interesting_ idea. Rolling back, Marx was once again face-to-face with the dragon. It tried to speak, barely forming some vague sounds, but Marx raised his staff again, this time to his mouth, and made it appear as though he breathed a beam of magic into the ground.

From that beam, a line of sharp crystals sprang up from under the dragon, impaling it in the gut. Then Marx actually laughed as he used a Crystal Soul Spear to pin the dragon's right wing to the ground, ran up it, and sprang off the Greatarrow lodged inside, hearing the already broken bones in the wing _crunch_ as they shattered.

The Ashen One twirled his blades into a reverse grip and impaled them into the base of the dragon's neck. There he left them, making sure the dragon couldn't move it's head effectively. Balancing on its neck, Marx raised his staff over his head like a halberd and summoned a Soul Greatsword. Then, he swung diagonally, lining the edges of the ethereal blade up with his previous strikes, and finally decapitated the beast.

The stump of it briefly flailed around, but Marx simply leapt off and landed evenly on his feet. He looked to the dragon's head, its face eternally frozen in shock, confusion, and terror. Marx actually pitied the poor creature. But...then again, it was an incredible battle. Dragon hunts like these never failed to be spectacular, and as Marx used his magic to extract the dragon's soul, he could only wonder what fantastic weapons could be transposed from it.

_A shorter one where Alduin was outmatched, but unlike Alric, Marx was more skilled with his weapons than his spells, had superior armor _and _mobility, and didn't stop once to converse with Alduin, nor did he have a trace of honor._


	3. Chapter 3

Just a little update that I will post a few more one-shots, hopefully soon. Also, someone asked is Alric will be returning. I've working on a proper crossover that will have him as the main character, but if you're interested in a rematch, that can also be arranged. I'm also going to do away with the sort of explanation/breakdown I end the chapters with, as I feel they're more distracting and out of place than anything else.


	4. Chapter 4

**Rematch!**

**Alric is back for another attempt!**

* * *

The Warrior of Sunlight wordlessly rolled to the right, kicking up a momentary screen of snow, and avoided the stream of fire emanating from the red dragon's jaws.

He raised his talisman to summon a Sunlight Spear.

"_H-Hi faal-"_

He stepped once closer to the beast and slammed it directly into its hide. The wyvern shrieked and shook, but fell dead moments later.

Alric merely waited to collect its sovereignless souls, and left quickly afterwards.

* * *

He had searched the land for a month, fighting both bandits and beasts on his quest, and sometimes other dragons. Dragons were growing more and more common in this land, or so he heard.

Still, Alric had yet to find the one he searched for. Alduin. Seems he had quite a reputation around here, as the World-Eater; supposedly it was his destiny to destroy the entire world. And only one being, a man with the soul of a dragon, could stop him.

Well, this dragonslayer disagreed with that aspect of the legend. He knew very well he could (_would_) kill Alduin, and take his soul.

* * *

He traveled for weeks more, deciding that his aimless wandering would take him nowhere but in circles, and journeyed to a monastery of sorts on a mountain called "High Hrothgar". Supposedly the old men attending it, the Greybeards, knew all there was to know about Alduin.

As he stopped at the town at the foot of the mountain, he looked up, and saw at its peak many dragons were gathered, and there was some glowing light as well.

Alric also heard the beating of wings, and looked to see an...almost pleasant surprise.

Just the dragon he was searching for, eyes filled with rage and fixed upon the peak of the mountain.

If whatever was going on up there was enough to enrage Alduin, Alric felt it could be allowed to continue.

He raised a Lightning Arrow and watched Alduin's path, then moved it just ahead of him and released it.

The arrow struck Alduin squarely on the bottom of his jaw, and the "World-Eater" roared in pain and rage, suddenly turning from his path to the mountain and coming straight for Alric on the ground.

The Ashen One simply walked away from the town to a safe distance, and watched Alduin approach.

When the black dragon was close enough it reared back to spout flames at him, and Alric simply blocked it with his shield, walking through the fire until it was done.

Alduin said nothing, absolutely _seething_ like the Chaos Flame itself, but Alric was unmoved. He prepared another Lightning Arrow, but Alduin flew upwards and started circling him.

Taking a moment to lead his shot, Alric loosed the arrow, striking Alduin in the right wing, and when it briefly "stumbled" mid-air, the Ashen One immediately hurled a Sunlight Spear to the same wing, also striking it directly.

The black dragon spun the ground, with Alric pausing to cast Tears of Denial and Great Magic Barrier, and waited for Alduin to approach.

He did, snarling and spitting frost, marching forward menacingly.

Alric simply ran to the side to get into cover and coat his Axe in lightning.

He waited, patiently, for the sound of Alduin getting closer. When he heard the dragon right behind his rock, he spun around, Lightning Stake in hand, and met Alduin's fiery eyes as he brought it down into his already wounded wing.

The thin membrane and bones splintered and bled, Alduin just barely gasping in sure agony, but now Alric held no pity for him.

He summoned a Sunlight Spear, which he stuck along Alduin's side, peeling away many of his scales.

The dragon snapped at him, but Alric rolled away and began cutting through Alduin's flesh with his axe.

Alduin audibly grit his teeth and inhaled. Alric, expecting fire, raised his shield, but no flames gathered in Alduin's maw.

"_Fus ro dah!"_

The Ashen One barely understood what was happening as he was thrown through the air like a sack, landing in a crumpled heap at the town's edge.

Dazed, he lifted his head to see Alduin limping toward him, every part of his body (save his destroyed wing) twitching and shaking in rage and pain.

Alric tried to raise his shield, but Alduin shouted again.

"_Zun haal viik."_

His shield and axe, even his talisman, were torn from his hands by an invisible force, scattering them far away.

Alric fumbled for his bag, hoping he remembered a spare weapon to bring with him.

Alduin came mere yards away, grinning malevolently.

"You are full of surprises, _ash._ But you will always die."

The knight reached inside, his hand closing around the grip of a sword. Slowly, he pulled it, chuckling at the dark bone over black metal.

Alduin's eyes narrowed at the blade, not recognizing its design but knowing its origin very well.

"Now…" Alric began slowly, readying the blade on his shoulder, "I do not have _much_ experience with ultra greatswords...but really, are you _that_ difficult to fight?"

The World-Eater roared in response, expelling flames nearly white-hot in response. Alric ran for it, running away from the village, and when he was far enough he raised the greatsword in the air as though praying through it.

Like Alduin had done in their last battle, the sky darkened and large meteors began to fall upon them. These ones, however, didn't even stumble him when they landed nearby, but one crashed into Alduin's neck with a _crunch_.

"You...you dare use my own bone and power against me!?"

Alric ran forward and swung the massive blade across Alduin's _other_ wing, noting with satisfaction that despite his scales still being intact on this side, it cut through and drew blood.

Alduin snapped to the side, grazing Alric's side, and backed up, preparing to shout again.

Before he could make a sound, another stone fell directly on his snout, clamping his teeth down on his tongue.

Alduin gave a muffle shriek and Alric laughed, and stepped forward, raising the greatsword overhead to cleave Alduin's head in two.

"_Tiid klo."_

It was a muffled yell, and due to biting his own tongue he couldn't quite say all of it, but still Alduin bought himself time to pull his teeth out of his tongue and shout again.

"_Fiem!"_

Time returned to normal and Alric's strike slammed into the dirt, passing harmlessly through Alduin's head.

The Ashen Champion stared in confusion at his weapon for a moment, then tried to swing it up again, but still it made no contact.

Alduin half-smiled. He turned and rapidly climbed a nearby hill while Alric fumbled for his Ashen Estus, the knight somewhat in shock at how Alduin had somehow turned ethereal, especially since Alric hadn't even heard him shout.

Alduin shouted again, the life draining shout he killed Alric with last time, though it was directed at something beneath him. His wings partially healed, allowing Alduin to weakly take flight.

Alric wanted to pursue, but a startled shout behind him drew his attention to a burning village...and many stares.

Looking around the battlefield, he regretfully noted most of it was burning or ruined by the falling stones and blasts from his lightning.

So he stepped back, only watching Alduin soar away, slowly. They would meet again. And surely then it would be their last battle.

* * *

**First of three parts. Sorry for the long delay, writer's block sucks, plus I had some personal stuff to attend to.**


	5. Why the delay and a review

So the reason I'm delayed on this is both writer's block, and I made the great mistake of posting the first chapter of my other story Omicron, so now I'm working on both of these.

To answer Flashking: I'm not even going to try and match power levels between Skyrim and Dark Souls, because there's no way to compare the two. It's like Goku vs Superman. Completely different universes with completely different rules. Instead I'm just bending the rules a bit so these fights can take place at all, then estimating the chances of success. I mean, magic in Dark Souls is incredibly power _in Dark Souls_, and Lightning is the one true weakness Dragon's have. In Skyrim magic is meh, and lightning is the only type of damage Dragon's aren't strong/weak against. I'm trying to create a middle ground here.

And Alduin's invincibility is a plot device, let's be honest. It would be pretty cheap if you found a way to kill him in an earlier encounter and totally derail the story. So in this crossover, Alduin is extremely powerful, but not like Archdragon levels of power, and he's definitely not invincible, although in the context of Alric's battles, the Ashen One can't permanently kill him, because he is unable to take his soul. Prophecy is a bitch. In the next two parts, he will need the Dragonborn's help to kill Alduin.


End file.
